Somerville Toy Camera Festival!

I wait for this harvest of imaginative energy all year long – the Somerville Toy Camera Festival (STCF) is back in town! The dynamic range of photographs on view is unlike any other you’re likely to experience in one place. And luckily for us, there are actually three venues showcasing a plethora of Color and B&W images made with time-honored, medium-format film icons like the Kodak Brownie, Holga and Diana cameras. Add to those, dreamlike photographs made with handcrafted pinholes (not “officially” a toy camera, but just as variable in result), undulating panoramas created with cameras like the Spinner 360, and vertiginous fantasies made with the Sprocket Rocket, among other delights. In the hands of the inventive photographers selected by 2018 STCF Juror Jennifer Shaw, these unpredictable “toys” produce a wonderland of images that inevitably reach beyond the subject to the subjective, inviting viewers into a kaleidoscope of sensations. Join me here for a whirlwind tour and then go enjoy for yourself at the Nave Gallery (through 9/30/18), Washington Street Arts (through 9/30/18) and Brickbottom Gallery (through 10/13/18). Photographs as unique as these are even more enchanting in person and since most works are for sale, you have an opportunity to nab something truly special for your own collection.

NAVE GALLERY

NAVE GALLERY is located in a church at 155 Powderhouse Boulevard, Somerville, MA (photo by Elin Spring).

“Senior Citizens, 2014”, Sepia-Toned Gelatin Silver print made with Holga 120 camera and Ilford HP5+ film by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist).

“Come Take A Ride On My Moonboat To The Next Galaxy, 2017” Selenium-Toned Gelatin Silver print made with Holga 120N camera and close-up lens and Kodak TMax 400 film by Lisa Lindamood (courtesy of the artist).

TOP: “Sean Collier Memorial” BOTTOM: “Motel”, both made with a Lomo Sprocket Rocket camera and Fujicolor Pro 400H film by Chris Turner (courtesy of the artist, installation view by Elin Spring).

Although the smallest of the STCF galleries, Washington Street Arts is exhibiting many of the vibrant Sprocket Rocket photographs, like those by Chris Turner (above) and Nathan Miner’s astonishing geodesic dome of contiguous photographs (below).

“C60 Spherical Camera and Photograph” constructed of digital prints from photopaper negatives created with a Miner C60 32-sided geodesic pinhole camera by Nathan Miner (courtesy of the artist, installation view by Elin Spring).

“Leaves & Lines”, made with a Diana F+ camera and Lomography 800 film by Lucy Wainwright (courtesy of the artist, installation view by Elin Spring).

“Southwestern Dream No. 1” made with a Holga 120TLR camera and Kodak Ektachrome Lumiere 35mm Slide Film (Expired 2001) by Barbara Justice (courtesy of the artist).

“Riverchild Dreams” made with a Holga camera and Kodak Tri-X film by Adrienne Defendi (courtesy of the artist).

“PEI Lighthouse” made with a Hawkeye camera and Tri-X film by Ken Kartes (courtesy of the artist).

“The Pier” made with a Holga 120FN camera and Ilford HP5 film by Mike Yoder (courtesy of the artist).

“English Roses” made with a Diana camera and Fuji 400H film by Mary Kocol (courtesy of the artist).

“What a circus” made with a Diana F+ camera with 35mm back and Lomo 400 film by Jean-Baptiste Morand (courtesy of the artist).

“SeasideFlipside 10” made with a No-brand plastic lens split-cam and Tri-X film by Angela Kleis (courtesy of the artist).

“Bridge Over Tolmin Gorge” made with a Holga 120GCFN camera and Kodak T-Max 400 film by Nicholas Seaney (courtesy of the artist).

“Before you knew where to look” made with a Holga 120N camera and Ilford HP5+ film by J.M. Golding (courtesy of the artist).

“Bonnaroo 2018 – Haze in water fountain” made with Lomography Spinner 360 35mm camera and Ilford HP5+ film by Jonathan Trundle (courtesy of the artist, installation view by Elin Spring, with apologies).

This is just a snippet of the intoxicating work you can experience firsthand at Nave Gallery, Washington Street Arts and Brickbottom Gallery this September. A huge thank you to juror Jennifer Shaw for making such a superb selection of work and congratulations to the exhibiting photographers! For a full schedule of events and exhibits, go to: http://www.somervilletoycamera.org/festival-events/

Feature Image: “Erosion Stopped?” by Erin O’Donnell, made with a Holga camera and Kodak Portra 400 film (courtesy of the artist). On view at the Brickbottom Gallery through October 13th, 2018.